Fixing welfare is a moral imperative, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Britain’s benefits system is broken and fixing it is a “moral imperative”, days after a revolt by his own backbenchers forced him into a U-turn on welfare cuts.

- KATE DEVLIN WHITEHALL EDITOR

The Labour leader announced the climbdown late this week, in the face of potential Labour Party revolt over his plans.

Yesterday he pledged Labour would not “take away the safety net” on which vulnerable people rely. But he added that he could not let welfare “become a snare for those who can and want to work”, as he said that “everyone agrees” on the need for change.

Earlier he faced calls for a “reset” of his government, in the wake of the welfare debacle, by the Labour peer and party grandee Charles Falconer.

Meanwhile, the veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott also hit out at some of Sir Keir’s advisors, calling them “angry and factional” in an interview with the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme.

Despite the climbdown the prime minister is also continuing to battle with some of his own MPs over the planned cuts, with reports some rebel MPs will attempt to put down a new amendment tomorrow to delay the bill.